River
by Vaudeville5
Summary: Chiyo runs an errand for Mother.


River

"You better hurry and get the comb Chiyo-chan, Mother is getting very impatient." Auntie said to me one day in the early spring. Auntie was not my real Aunt, just as Mother was not my real mother. My real mother had died in Yoroido, which was the sleepy fishing town I was born in and raised until I was nine. The town was so close to the ocean you could taste it. My father, I had learned after my first few weeks of living with Mother and Auntie, died shortly after my mother did.

My father's friend Mr. Tanaka had probably taken my sister Satsu and I away for that reason. Tanaka-sama was a very nice man that owned a fishing company and for a while Satsu and I were going to live with him. Well that obviously is not the case now.

Oh, forgive me you probably don't know who I am and where I am. My name is Chiyo and I now live in the Nitta okiya. Only a day ago I finally received word about my sister. She was supposed to take me away from this horrible place and back home to Yoroido. Tanaka-sama wrote me a letter saying that Satsu had run away with Sugi-sama's son. What breaks my heart even more is I don't know where she is and neither does Tanaka-sama.

I am a helper to the Geisha as well as a Geisha in training. I don't do well in my Geisha classes. Most of the time I am afraid that they will kick me out of class and Mother and Auntie will beat me. I sometimes shudder in fear at the thought of suffering Mother and Auntie's wrath.

"Chiyo-chan! Did you hear me?" Auntie wailed at me. I suppose it is not right to make fun of Auntie since she is the one who has taken care of me and has shown me the most kindness out of everyone in the okiya. "Pumpkin is still in her class." Ah, yes my best friend and only friend Pumpkin. She is the only one that is my age around this okiya. "Hai, Auntie I'll go get it right away." I really didn't want to go and get anything at the moment but the outing may take my mind off of Satsu and Sugi-sama's son, who were most likely happy.

As I slipped into my getas, Auntie stopped me and whispered, "Mother is very upset today and I don't think she will be as forgiving as she was in the past." "Hai" was my only reply, as I walked out the door of the okiya and into Kyoto.

As I stepped outside I realized that the Sakura trees were in full bloom and starting to fall. I normally liked to make a wish as the small flowers fluttered to the ground like light feathers.

As I walked by a pond, I noticed multiple content koi in their home. As the calming smell of fish drifted through the air, I thought of the song that Tanaka-sama taught me, and how his wife would sing it to the fish. So in memory of the family that I hoped to be part of I sang it to the koi, " Suzuki yo Suzuki/ Jobutusu shite Kure!"

The song made me think of home and the fact that I was ten and had no family except a sister who would never come back for me. My eyes started to tear. After walking with tears in my eyes I could smell the salt in my eyes. Salt, I started crying after I smelled the wonderful sent and thought of home. As I thought of my situation I thought back to the koi fish and began to envy them.

I was just about to run away from Kyoto and becoming a Geisha, until I saw the comb Auntie had described. It was not fancy like the combs the Geisha used. It was rather simple and had a carving of a bird on it. The bird was what struck me. It seemed to be flying off the comb itself! As I was paying for the comb, the salesman mumbled something at me. I think he said "Your eyes are an unusual color. You have quite a bit of water in you don't you?" I thanked him and started walking back to where I came from.

While walking back, I thought about why everyone notices my eyes and nothing else. I came to that conclusion quickly. I had a large amount of water in me and it was shown through my eyes. I often wondered why I was born with so much water.

As I stepped into the door of the okiya I realized why the bird had caught my attention. It was free and flying with grace. The bird had a grace I would never possess even if I was to become a Geisha. No one could keep a free bird in a cage unless flight was taken from it. But no one could control water. Even if you block the water, the water will always find a way to flow where it wants to flow. The water normally wants to flow out with the tide and I realized so do I.


End file.
